Jayalalithaa opposes DBT scheme

Objecting strongly to some aspects of the Centre’s Direct Benefits Transfer (DBT) scheme, Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa on Saturday urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh not to operationalise the scheme in her state as it was “an infringement of the authority of the state governments”.

Charging the Centre of violating the “spirit of federalism and democratic decentralization”, Jayalalithaa said the direct money transfer of subsidy element to beneficiaries was aimed at gaining control of states’ finances.

“Are state governments expected to look on as mere bystanders?” she asked in a letter.

In the first phase, Ariyalur, Pudukottai and Tiruchirappalli districts of Tamil Nadu are to roll out the scheme in July.